how social are they, how difficult is it to get a bid and what kind of people are they looking for as pledges, does it help with med school apps?
I know a few people in AED and PhiDE. They are definitely what you consider “Work Hard, Play Hard” type of people. Getting a bid into professional fraternities in general are very difficult. I don’t have stats for AED or PhiDE, but I have a friend in AKPsi (business frat) who told me that the stats this year for his frat was ~25 spots from a pool of ~250 people, so I’d imagine numbers are similar for PhiDE and AED.
You should browse their website/Maize Page or go to their info sessions to find out what they look for in an applicant, unless someone here is in either AED/PhiDE.
In terms of med school apps, it’s like any other EC in the sense that having it helps but not having it doesn’t hurt you. I’m sure most interviewers/adcoms will understand that fraternities in general are huge time commitments, so don’t worry if you have to sacrifice other ECs to take part in it. Also, how valuable it is to your app depends on what role you played as a part of being in the frat (just like any other club). Did you hold leadership or were the one only showing up for parties and social events?
Point is, if you’re interested, it doesn’t hurt to try (you can reapply as many times as you want, and I believe they encourage that), and if not, just find other ECs to take part in.
The pre-med frat is difficult to get in as a freshman, I’ve heard it’s easier as a sophomore/upperclassman. I’m part of a pre-law frat though and it’s the best part of my semester so far!